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Thank you 2019 for Everything and My hopes for 2020

Jan 1, 2020

As we are in the final moments of 2019, and we bid you goodbye, here are a few things I wanted to Thank you for. It was not the perfect year. The first six months were very hard for me for several reasons. It got better later and December was the best of all.

Health: I am thankful that there were no major medical emergencies in my family. Those who have been on bed rest or had someone ill in their family knows how painful it is.

Zero Waste Journey: This year, I started my Zero Waste Journey. I had seen people who could fit their year’s waste in a mason jar but I could not understand the why of it. I finally understand why it is necessary to reduce our consumption. I carried out massive declutter sessions and threw away a lot of things that were doing nothing but occupying precious real estate in my drawers. I made sure to click pictures of them to remind me when I shop the next time.

I did not force any bans on me but slowly shopped less because I understood deep within why shopping less was important. Even when I was surrounded by great skincare at the French pharmacies (again and again), I was not even tempted to empty the racks like I would have if I had been there last year.

I brought less and whatever I brought, I bought of better quality to make them last longer. I reused everything I had even more than I did before. I repeated outfits like a champ.

I have aced on buying vegetables and planning them to ensure zero food waste. I do order take-outs now and then because those are still my guilty pleasures.

I have moved to menstrual cups which brought in a sea change in my life.

In 2020, I wish to go completely zero waste for the bathroom. I have stopped buying shower gel and other products in plastic bottles. I am just finishing up the ones I have now. But, not overuse them for the sake of finishing them.

Learning something new: I picked up water coloring. I watched a lot of videos and learnt and practiced several techniques. I am not perfect but I can only better myself when I do it again and again. I love it a lot and it gives me immense please. It helped me with anxiety as well.

In 2020, I hope to work more on it.

Probably, even learn to play the piano (This has been my childhood dream but I never had the time and now when I have the time, I am not able to find a tutor)

Travel: With the money saved by not buying unnecessary goods, I invested it in experiences that I will cherish for a lifetime. I traveled on every opportunity I got. The crème de la crème – five weeks in Europe. This was my first visit to Europe and everywhere I went, I ensured that I could get the best experience that I could afford. Obviously, I skimped on other things like one good dinner but for simple lunch, nothing special or maybe just street-side specials of the town.

From Pope's blessing at midday on Christmas at Vatican to Russian Orthodox Church evening mass at Nice, 'Mona Lisa' at Louvre Paris to 'Birth of Venus' at Uffizi Florence, Colosseum at Rome to Sagrada Familia at Barcelona, Christmas market at Haarlem to Crystal blue water at French Riviera on a sunny day, going to the summit of Eiffel Tower by lift in the morning to walking almost 500 steep steps of the Santa Maria Cathedral at night, Sistine chapel on Christmas Eve to Red light area of Amsterdam, Post office of Toulouse to Police station of Barcelona are just the ones on top of my head now. I cannot be more thankful. I am still trying to process it all

I am still not over the vacation high. I will talk to me all soon. I was there for work but I think I learned to balance life really well.

Even in 2020, I hope I continue to do the same.

Work-life balance: I am fortunate to have a workplace where I can balance my work and personal life. I am happy that I get to do that. Add to that the ten years of experience so work is easier for me now than before. There are days when things are challenging but I am thankful for all the day it wasn’t and I was happy in my home by 7 in the evening.

In 2020, I hope things stay the same.

Understanding myself and having more confidence in myself: This probably is something that comes with age. In 2016, I took personalities test was the biggest window to my life and I learned a lot about myself. Like how I usually do not like to be surrounded by people for long but I also like to ensure that everyone is comfortable and not bothered by me. But, this is very draining for me. It is exhausting to ensure that every single person around you is happy and well-fed and have zero complaints. This year, I slowly started saying myself – “Not my job to make everyone happy. I cannot win at every battle. It is not my duty to correct every mistake done by others. I just need to trust the process and go with the flow at times. Deep breath please” It helped me a lot to let go of things that I could not control. I have reduced stressing and overthinking by a big margin. It is still a process but I am in a much better position than before.

In 2020, I hope to get better at this.

What are you thankful for and what are your hopes?

Love,
Shayoni

2 comments

Personally 2019 was not the best year for me, but it was a year of learning, personally and professionally. I failed miserably in work and personal front. Motherhood is not easy, it was a challenge to manage work and baby. I learnt alot. This year if everything works as expected then will be relocating to different continent, which i was postponing from few years. Finally we took decision and process started, but lots of work and exams I need to clear :)